


What You Return To

by Irollforinitiative



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Season 7 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-18
Updated: 2012-06-18
Packaged: 2017-11-08 01:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/437508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irollforinitiative/pseuds/Irollforinitiative
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After "What You Leave Behind". Odo comes back to Kira, but they don't get their happily ever after. At least, not at first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Nerys looked out at the pool of Changelings as the liquid slowly turned from green to gold, the color change spreading from where Odo had stepped into the link. Hugging her arms around herself she sat down on a rock, not yet ready to beam back up to the runabout. A part of her hoped that he would suddenly appear. That he would decide curing his people was enough and they would go back to DS9, content and in love again. Nerys balled her hands into fists, letting her long nails cut into the palms of her hands. She knew that he might be able to see her still, or was aware of her somehow, and she didn't want to cry. No, to Odo it simply looked like she was staying to make sure everything turned out alright. Nerys let her mind wander. Onto Odo and what they had. The nights spent in her quarters, the mornings where he woke her with a kiss, the dinners where she always felt embarrassed being the only one eating. Odo had taken to reading or doing something with his hands at dinner so that she felt less awkward. He always knew too, no matter how much she hid it, he always knew when she was unhappy.

Shaking her head Nerys realized the planet was gold as far as she could see. Odo had done it, he had saved his people. Checking the time she realized that nearly two hours had passed. Blushing slightly at the realization she had stayed far longer than she should have she whispered, "Good job Odo" before beaming up to the runabout. There, she had covered herself. Now he would be sure she had stayed to make things went well. Nerys knew she couldn't let him know how heartbroken she was. This was his future. He needed to be back with his people and it wasn't her place to stand in the way.

In the link Odo saw and felt Nerys tell him good job before leaving. So she had stayed just to be sure he was safe. It stands to reason since the last time he was here his people had been sentencing him. A part of him wanted her to be staying in case he changed his mind. In case he realized he couldn't live without her. The truth was he couldn't, but he told her he was leaving forever so that she would get on with her life. Odo knew that his task would take time, and he couldn't bear the thought of her pining after him and waiting for the months or years it could take. Giving himself back over to the link Odo began his task of changing the minds of his people.


	2. Tears

It was amazing how much had changed in a year. Nerys stood on the upper floor and looked out over the Promenade. Her Promenade. It had been for nearly four months now. The Prophets had decided to give Captain Sisko back the night Kassidy went into labor. Nerys smiled at the memory of the stir it had caused. Doctor Bashir said that Kassidy went into labor from the shock of her husband suddenly appearing in their bedroom after being gone for nine months. After his return they moved to the house Jake had built on Bajor. The Captain was now just The Emissary. Even when he was gone his name remained on the active duty list, in respect of his memory. So, even though she had been running it for a year now, Nerys had technically only been in official charge of the station for four months. Nerys let her hand slide over the four pips on her high federation collar. It had bothered her when she was on Cardassia, but lo and behold if Bajor wasn't accepted into the Federation two months after the end of the war. Just after she had gotten out of it, Nerys had found herself back in the Federation uniform, and with a promotion too once The Emissary returned. Captain Kira. Nerys smiled. She had just been getting used to being called Commander instead of Colonel when the promotion was announced.

A crash startled her out of her pontification. Quark was yelling a stream of curses in so many different languages no universal translator could keep up. Two of his Ferengi barmen had dropped a large white arch. It was part of the alter for Ezri and Doctor Bashir's wedding. Nerys still had no idea why they wanted to get married on the station, but, as Ezri said, it brought them together. Looking down Nerys saw her favorite spot on The Promenade. It was where Odo had kissed her. Their first kiss. Maybe it wasn't her favorite spot anymore. It had been a year since he left and not a day went by where she didn't feel like her chest was being crushed with grief. Her crewmates thought she was fine. They thought she had handled her grief and moved on. The duties as head of the station kept her busy enough that no one questioned why she never made plans anymore. Even Dax, who had been her closest friend as Jadzia and had taken on the same role as Ezri, seemed to think she was okay. No one knew. No one guessed that she went to sleep every night crying and clutching his bucket to her. It was all she had left of him. After almost two years of breathless nights and stolen kisses all she had was a bucket, pattern 07, from the replicator.

"Sometimes I think Quark is more anxious about the wedding than me." Ezri had appeared at her elbow.

"Probably because he thinks if he does well enough setting it up you'll come to your senses and marry him." Nerys's wry smile and sharp wit never faded, even though her grief.

"You're probably right. How are you Nerys? I haven't seen you in forever." Nerys ran her hands over her face as she sighed before responding.

"Tired. I didn't know how much work it was running a station."

"And we're not even at war."

"I have a sneaking suspicion that The Captain either never did his paperwork or made Nog do it all. You know he tried to intercept new crew orders for me once?"

"Nog?"

"Yes!"

"All along he was the power behind the throne. Who knew?" Nerys laughed at Ezri's flippant comment. As she laughed Ezri stared at her. "How are you Nerys?"

"What do you mean I'm fine."

"No you're not and you haven't been for a year."

"What do you mean" Nerys tried to brush off the comment as if it were absurd.

"I can see it when you laugh. Used to you laughed with your whole body. Always ended up holding on to something or someone. Now its just your face, and even then not your eyes."

"Ezri it wasn't that funny of a joke." Nerys still tried to brush her off, fearing the alternative of opening up. Once she started she knew she couldn't stop and it was just too much. Too much to face. Too much pain.

"Nerys, stop evading me. I know you. I've seen you through two different people's eyes and I know when something is wrong with my closest friend. I also know that tomorrow it will have been one year since Odo left." Nerys fought down the panic of emotions inside her. Not here, not now, not this. She was The Captain, damn it, an ex-rebel. Not some emotional child. Nerys mentally fumbled for a response. Something, anything, to shut Ezri up and make her leave. Before she found an answer the communicator chirped and a voice from the bridge of the station answered for her.

"Ops to Captain Kira."

"Kira here."

"Captain there is a ship about to dock but they are requesting to speak with you personally before doing so. I tried to get them to make an appointment to speak with you after they dock, but they won't accept." Kira smiled apologetically at Ezri as she turned to walk off and deal with the godsend of a situation.

"On my way."

When she got to her office and put the ship that wanted to dock onscreen, Nerys nearly fell off her chair. In front of her was the face of a Changeling. It wasn't Odo. It wasn't a Changeling she had seen before, but the soft, doughy, conformation of his nose, ears, and eyebrows told her it had to be one.

"I see you recognize my species Captain." The Changeling had a high tenor voice, nothing like Odo's. A part of her was thankful for this.

"Y-yes. Of course I do. What can I do for you?"

"Can I say, first off, what an honor it is to be speaking with Kira Nerys, the woman who loved a Changeling. Your name and face are known throughout the great link, even if your hair is longer than when you last were at our planet." Nerys reached up and absentmindedly touched her hair that now hung past her shoulders and was neatly pulled back in a classic Bajoran style.

"You…you know me?"

"We all do. But that is not why I am here. I would like to stay at your station. Only for a little while. I hope to contact the Federation and be given a chance to travel to Earth. My people have done so much harm there, I hope to be given an opportunity to repair that damage."

"Of course you can stay here. You, and all your people, will always be welcome on DS9." Nerys found herself saying the words before she even thought about them. It was the truth though. After Odo she would never be able to judge a Changeling based on race alone. "Before you go. Odo. Is he?" Nerys left the question unsaid, afraid of what it would mean to her heart to say it. The Changeling on the screen looked down.

"No. He remains with my people." Nerys nodded, anxious to end the conversation.

"Well I look forward to meeting you, Kira out." Nerys slammed the button to end the transmission, never even asking his name. She stood and moved to the couch in the office, out of the view of the glass doors. Once there she slowly sat and requested Ezri come to her office over her communicator. After only a minute Ezri appeared at the doors, using her override code to come in, not even bothering to chime. Nerys knew Ezri had heard the desperation in her voice so when the Trill came into the office and sat down next to her she said nothing, only put an arm around the older Bajoran woman. That was it, it was too much. Nerys buckled forward and into Ezri's side, her tears flowing out of her as she moaned in pain.

"What happened, what is it Nerys." Ezri sounded scared. Nerys realized that the poor counselor had no idea what had happened and was assuming some tragedy had occurred. Her urge to care for others taking over, Nerys sat up and wiped away some tears.

"It was a Changeling. He came to the station to make peace."

"But that's good isn't it? I means Odo—oh. Odo?"

"He wasn't on the ship." With that Nerys descended back into tears and Ezri held her close and spoke consoling words. Nerys felt silly crying just because the man she was once involved with didn't come back to her, but she couldn't help it. It felt like a piece of her was missing, and it had chosen not to return.

On the docking ship the male Changeling stepped away from the viewscreen. It had returned to the view from the outside when Kira had ended the transmission. He nodded thanks to the transport captain and returned to his quarters, not wanting to linger on the bridge of another's ship. When he returned to the cramped quarters he found the light out.

"Did the power go out?" he asked the darkness.

"No, I just felt like being in the dark." One part of the darkness shimmered and shifted and regained humanoid form.

"Lights." The lights returned. "She asked about you Odo."

"What did she say?"

"She asked if you were here."

"And what did you tell her?"

"That you weren't."

"Good. Did she look…"

"Sad? I don't know. I can barely make a humanoid face, I can't really read them." The male Changeling chuckled as he looked into the face of his mentor. The mentor of all the Changelings. In his year in the link Odo's shapeshifting abilities had improved greatly. Looking at him now one would hardly believe him to not be a human. The male changeling was jealous of his talents, but knew that as he himself was a child he could hardly be expected to shift as well as others. "Why must I lie to her again?"

"I told you already. I let her go. She has moved on and I don't want her to feel like she has to give up the life she has now just because I'm back in the Alpha Quadrant." The male Changeling nodded then started as a loud noise echoed through the ship. "We're docking. I'll talk to you once we're aboard." With that Odo seemed to melt into a dufflebag, his shifting effortless and beautiful. Once again the male Changeling felt a pang of jealousy.


	3. Hope?

It felt like hours had passed when the tears finally stopped. Ezri had fallen asleep long ago, her arm still around Nerys's shoulders, protectively. Smiling Nerys stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Anyone could tell she had been crying. Her eyes were red and swollen and her face was covered in makeup. Shaking her head she walked back to the couch and touched Ezri's shoulder to wake her.

"Ezri, time to wake up." Ezri woke with a start and stared at her.

"How are you?"

"Emotionally? Much better. Physically? I'm a mess."

"Yeah…you kind of are." Ezri noticed Nerys's smile looked genuine for the first time in a year.

"I think I'm going to beam to my quarters. Could you go out and send control of the transporter in here so that I can do that." Ezri smiled and nodded before leaving the room. After a moment the wall panel lit up and Nerys punched the buttons that had her materializing in her same old quarters. Even when she got a promotion and The Emissary and Kassidy moved out she had refused to get new quarters. Her excuse had been that she didn't need the space. In reality she didn't want to leave the place where she had Odo had practically lived together for a year.

After a good night's sleep and a long sonic shower, Nerys found herself in the ward room, waiting for the male Changeling to arrive. She had promised to meet with him so that she could help him in his quest. The doors opened quietly and there he stood, a Changeling. Nerys stood and rose to shake his hand.

"It's nice to meet you in person. I'm Captain Kira." He took his hand, his skin soft and cool, just like Odo's had been.

"It's so wonderful to finally meet you Captain. I'm Judoon."

"Have a seat Judoon. If I may ask you, why are you really here?" The question was not accusative, but merely came from the thousands of questions that nagged at Nerys's mind. Judoon seemed to understand this and smiled before responding.

"Because it was time. All of my people now see the xenophobia and error in our past ways. The elder ones feel shame at what they did. The Female Changeling was the only one of us to visit the outside world and the solids, and she told us all such horrible things. When Odo came, though, he showed us the evil in her, and the beauty of the outside. He showed us the diversity and caring of the solids. Slowly but surely he won us all over. We no longer desire to be "The Founders". We now only want to be like any other race. We want to explore and better ourselves. We want what you all have."

"But why you?" Nerys left the rest of the question unspoken. But why not Odo.

"Because I'm but a child. As you can see, my shifting abilities are lacking. I'm only about seven years old. My youth means that I still have the hope and innocence of a child. The link believed that I would be able to communicate best with the solids because of this. I'm still filled with wonder. They thought you would trust that." Nerys looked into his eyes and realized the truth in his words. He had the eyes of a child, scared and excited by everything. Odo's eyes had looked like that when she first met him during the Occupation.

"Well, Judoon, I would trust you no matter what. Hopefully my trust means something to the Federation. I'll let them know about your presence and your desire to speak with our government, to make our peace more than just an official document." Nerys stood and shook his hand once more before leaving the ward room.

Without stopping or thinking she walked straight to "Quark's". Over in a corner she spotted Julian at a table alone, reading. She collapsed into the chair next to him and leaned her head onto his shoulder. She had told no one anything before last night, but Julian and Quark seemed to understand somehow that she was still in pain and had always wordlessly comforted her.

"Well hello there Captain." Julian smirked down at her. Nerys only glared up at him.

"Doctor."

"Rough day?"

"You could say that."

"It's not even 11:00 yet." Julian continued to smirk at her, his sarcasm his way of comforting her.

"I met with Judoon."

"Whodoon?" Nerys laughed a little at him.

"Judoon. The male Changeling that came in on a transport last night."

"Ah. And how did that go?"

"His people want peace. Real, interactive, peace."

"And…is that not good?"

"I guess it is. I don't know why I'm in such a bad mood then." The Doctor grunted his agreement and put his arm around her shoulder before going back to reading. He didn't mention Odo. He never mentioned Odo. Deep down he knew that was what was wrong, that was always what was wrong, but she knew that. She certainly didn't need him reminding her of that every five minutes. And that was why Nerys came to him. He was going to marry her best friend. He was a dear friend to her and a part of her life, and he knew just what not to say. It helped that he had very comfortable shoulders, a fact Ezri had pointed out months ago and urged Nerys to take advantage of when she had a bad day. Nerys smiled again. Even though she hadn't told anyone what was wrong, everyone seemed to know. Ezri certainly wasn't surprised at her emotional outburst last night. Sighing she leaned fully into Julian and began reading with him, the dry medical text helping take her thoughts away.

From the balcony of "Quark's" a hooded figure watched the two. To an outside observer it would appear that they were involved. The way Nerys leaned against Julian and the way he seemed so comfortable with it. Even now they were reading the same thing together. To all eyes they were lovers. To Odo's eyes they were lovers. He was thankful for the hood as if he had been in another humanoid shape other than his own at the moment, he would have lost it. The heartache that flooded through him at the sight was almost too much. He sank into a seat, staring at his Nerys in the arms of another man.

Odo sat there for hours, staring. Nerys and Doctor Bashir had left long ago. In fact, everyone had left long ago. Odo only realized how long he had been sitting there when a voice sounded behind him.

"Hey bub, it's a weeknight. We closed an hour ago." Odo turned suddenly and looked into the face of Quark. The speed of his movements had thrown the hood off his face and the tray fell from Quark's hands. "Odo? Is that really you?"

"Yes Quark it's really me." After so long together Odo responded in the same gruff way he always did. The ease of the reply spared him from having to think in his emotionally compromised state.

"But, but. Kira! She was here, she was sad! She..you!" Quark was wildly gesticulating, seemingly lost for words.

"I saw her Quark."

"Then why didn't you talk to her!"

"Did you see her?"

"Yes, she came in, ordered some tea and sat with the Doctor for about 20 minutes before leaving."

"She didn't just sit with the Doctor. She was practically all over him." Quark began to laugh. "It's not funny Quark!" The laughter continued. Odo made to stand and leave when Quark put his hand on his shoulder and sat down next to him.

"Odo, Odo, Odo. That was nothing. They're just friends."

"That didn't look like friends to me."

"I can guarantee you it is. Ezri would have murdered them both long ago if it was anything but friendship."

"Ezri?"

"She and the Doctor are getting married. Next week! Not that he deserves her. Odo Doctor Bashir and Kira are friends. She turns to him for support. Hell, she turns to me for support. If you had walked in two nights ago you would have found me on my knees trying to recite Bajoran love poems to her."

"Love poems?"

"Yes! She took you leaving rather rough. I found out months ago that if I act madly in love with her it makes her laugh. After six months we all would have done anything to see her laugh again."

"She doesn't laugh?"

"Not really. Everyone on this station has done everything they can to comfort her. Dax, Bashir, and I just lucked out and our efforts worked. Dax and Bashir because they were always close with her, and me, well, I think she tolerates me because I was the closest thing to a friend you ever had in your sad, miserable, misanthropic years here." Odo just stared at Quark.

"You mean she…"

"Yes she still loves you. Now get out of here, I'm closing up."

Odo stood, the realization of it all coming over him. She still loved him. She still loved him. He realized he was in motion. Not just walking, he was running. Looking at the walls he realized where he was running to.

The door chime caught Nerys's attention. She had been sitting on her couch, staring. Staring at the floor. Seeming to hope it would shimmer, turn golden, and form into Odo. Sighing she turned to the door. "Come in."


	4. Fear

Nerys leapt to her feet. There, in her doorway, was Odo. He stepped inside and let the doors close behind him. His face was formed so well that he hardly looked like a Changeling. Only his nose and ears remained soft looking. He never could get those right. Nerys shook her head. No, he was there. It was no dream. Odo was in her quarters. Stepping forward she slowly approached him where he stood, very still, just inside her door. Her hand reached out to touch his face but stopped short.

"Odo?"

"Yes, Nerys, it's me."

"Are you really here?"

"I am." With that her eyes grew big and she fell into his arms, her eyes overflowing with tears as she spouted off words and phrases in Bajoran, seeming to only find expression of her grief and happiness in her own language. Odo sighed and tightened his grip around her, allowing his face to fall into her hair. He had always loved the feeling of her hair against his cheek. After a few minutes she suddenly grew still. Odo pulled his head back, smiling wider than he thought he ever had before.

"Odo," she started, sniffing and wiping away tears, "when did you get here, no transports docked today." In her tears this had dawned on her. Odo looked down.

"I got here last night." Nerys stepped back from him. Odo's hands went out, missing the contact and her warmth.

"Last night?"

"On the transport with Judoon." Nerys stepped back again.

"But…but he said you weren't there."

"I told him to say that. I didn't want to interfere with your life."

"What?" The pitch and volume of her voice rose. Odo could tell that not only was she mad, but she was furious. He spoke quickly, hoping to dispel her anger.

"When I left you to join the link I lied. I told you I wouldn't return. I…I couldn't stand the thought of you being forced to pine and wait for me while I finished a task that could have taken me years."

"So you lied to me?" It hadn't worked. She was still growing angrier with each passing word he spoke.

"I spared you. Nerys I…"

"No. You didn't spare me Odo. You CONDEMED me! You forced me into a life of grief and despair because I was forced to believe that the man I loved enough that I would have given up my life for him, didn't love me enough to come back. I was forced to believe that after years of you saying you missed your people but your place was here, on the station, that you had changed your mind. That I wasn't enough to keep you here."

"Nerys I didn't want to you think you had to wait." Odo was desperate for her to understand. Nerys looked down to where his bucket sat, waiting to be cried over for the night. She bent and picked it up and looked at it. When she spoke again her voice was deadly quiet.

"You made me think you didn't love me." With that Nerys shoved the bucket into Odo's arms and walked into her bedroom, trusting he would leave. She fell onto her pillow and sobbed deeply. The truth that she had not even admitted to herself before was just yelled at the man she loved. It seemed to crash down on Nerys. That was why she grieved so much. It wasn't that she missed him. It was that she thought she had been wrong to love him so much. For once anger as well as grief boiled inside of her and she stood and began to throw and break anything she could lift within her room.

Odo left to the sounds of her crying, screaming, and breaking things. His mind was reeling from what she had told him. Not wanting to see anyone Odo reverted to his natural state and streamed through the station until he found a quiet corner to pool in while he regenerated and thought. What had he done.


	5. Forever After

The next day Nerys didn't see Odo during her shift. She went about her business and didn't say much to anyone. No one said much to her. They all knew Odo was back and those close enough to her to make small talk knew better than to initiate it on a day like today. Her being prickled with suppressed anger. She carried twice the anger as usual today. Not only was she angry at Odo for what he did to her, but she was angry at herself for yelling at him. Mostly she was angry at herself for not just leaping into his arms. Then again, it was her self respect that kept her from doing that. Her heart did jump at bit when she got a message near the end of her shift. It read, "Dinner tonight? You deserve an explanation. –O" Nerys didn't even need the initial to know who it was from. She picked up her padd and typed in "yes" and sent it to Odo. She didn't make any attempts to ask about plans. Instead she just went to her room trust he'd come for her.

She paced, anxious. First she picked out a dress to wear then, deciding she was more comfortable in her uniform, she put the uniform back on and began to fresher her makeup. Just as she started to anxiously run her fingers through her hair in an attempt to freshen it, the door sensor beeped. With a shaky breath she responded.

"Come in." Odo stood in the door.

"Nerys…Kira…Captain now, I guess, I'm sorry." He fidgeted.

"Before we get dinner just answer this for me. If you lied to me to protect me from grieving for years then why did you even come back to me? You got here and didn't tell me. You made it seem like you planned on never coming back to me." Odo's face tightened. Nerys noticed how well formed it looked.

"It's a bit of a story." Nerys just cocked a hip and raised her eyebrow as she looked at him. He sighed, "All right. I was, I am, in love with you. But I was deluded. I used to sit in my office and watch everyone walk around and talk to their friends. I always saw people with their own species. It wasn't purposeful separation, but just a natural one. People tend to flock to their own kind. It used to pain me. Once I found out I had a species and a home world I finally thought there might be a place for me. When I joined with the female changeling," Kira's face twitched, making Odo stutter, "when—when I joined with her it felt like coming home. It felt amazing. It was not, however, better than being around you and being in love with you. But she lied to me. She told me joining with the rest of the link was a thousand thousands times better than joining with one changeling.

"I was scared. I was scared that if I stayed here I would begin to resent you which is the last thing I wanted. So I lied. Just in case I didn't want to come back." He looked up at her. Nerys looked heart broken and offended. Odo realized the subtext had never been made clear. He stepped toward her as he spoke again. "No, no you don't understand. I was a fool. It was a thousand thousands time better than joining with one changeling. But it wasn't love. It wasn't you. One moment spent near you, just in your presence, it was better than being in the link. I was haunted by this. I came on the transport with the intention of never going back to the planet because it just reminded me of how much better my life with you was. I stopped by Quarks just to see you one last time. But he told me you still loved me and…and" Odo trailed off and looked down.

Nerys reached out and took Odo's hand. He looked up at her.

"Your shifting abilities are so much better." Odo just nodded, a scared but hopeful look in his eye. Nerys sighed and looked down. "Odo you acted like a child. I want to be angry and I want to blame you. But, the thing of it is you behaved like a person. Like a solid. Being entirely idiotic is part of life. I…I don't want to forgive you and I hate myself for not being more angry. But the sight of you. My heart is singing and I feel. I feel awake for the first time in a year."

Odo just looked at her. Her eyes had welled with tears. With a huff Odo stepped forward and took her face in his hands.

"I love you Nerys."

"I love you too Odo. Just, please. Please, never leave me again."

"I don't think I could if I tried." Nerys smiled and leaned into his hands, turning to kiss his palm like she did when they said goodbye. Odo softly huffed a chuckle and brought his face close to her. Nerys stopped breathing as he brought his mouth to cover hers. His shifting abilities had improved so much. His lips were formed and strong but still as inconceivable smooth as always. Nerys moaned softly into his kiss and opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. Odo pulled her closer, allowing his hands to hold tight to her lower back. After minutes of this Nerys finally had to pull away and gasp for air, pressing her forehead to his. She smiled but he couldn't see it.

"You know, Odo, I'm the CO now." He nodded against her head.

"Mmmm I noticed."

"And that means I'm in charge of crew."

"Mmmmhmm." Odo was still lost in the bliss of having Nerys in his arms once more to follow her trail.

"I still don't have a chief of security."

"Yes?" He was beginning to catch on.

"And you were a part of the Bajoran Militia which means you can become a Starfleet Officer without jumping through any hoops." Odo leaned back and was looking into here eyes, his own full of hope. "You didn't really have a rank before and seeing as how Chief of Security is usually held by Lieutenant Commanders I think I can give you rank until Starfleet officially approves it."

"Are you offering me a job?"

"Yes." Nerys smiled in a way she hadn't in a year. Her eyes, her soul smiled.

"I had one demand though."

"Oh?" Nerys tried to look serious but failed.

"I don't want any quarters."

"No?" Odo let go of her and started to look around her rooms.

"Yes, I think these will do quite nicely for me." Nerys smiled at him and threaded her hand into hers.

"I think that can be arranged Commander. Now, dinner?" They left her quarters, their quarters, hand in hand.


End file.
